# Magpie — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Pica pica*

> A magpie is a large black-and-white bird in the crow family (Corvidae). The Eurasian magpie, Pica pica, is famous for its long iridescent tail, loud chattering call and exceptional intelligence — it is one of the few non-mammals known to recognise itself in a mirror.

**IUCN status:** Least Concern (IUCN)  ·  **WARN range:** Europe, Asia, North Africa, United Kingdom, Scandinavia

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Common name | Eurasian magpie (common magpie) |
| Scientific name | Pica pica |
| Family | Corvidae (crows and jays) |
| Body length | 44-46 cm (tail over half of this) |
| Wingspan | 52-62 cm |
| Diet | Omnivore: insects, seeds, fruit, carrion, scraps, eggs |
| Typical clutch | 5-6 eggs |
| Range | Europe, temperate Asia, North Africa |
| IUCN status | Least Concern |
| Notable trait | Passes the mirror self-recognition test |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Aves
- **Order:** Passeriformes
- **Family:** Corvidae
- **Genus:** Pica
- **Species:** Pica pica

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Least Concern. The Eurasian magpie has a very large global range and a big, stable population, and it adapts readily to farmland, suburban and urban habitats. It is not considered threatened anywhere across its range.
- **Population:** Not precisely counted, but the global population is very large and numbers in the tens of millions of mature individuals.
- **Trend:** Stable
- **Assessed:** Assessed as Least Concern in the most recent IUCN Red List evaluation.
- **CITES:** Not listed on the CITES appendices.
- As a highly adaptable generalist, the magpie thrives alongside people; the conservation concern lies less with this species than with the specialist wildlife displaced by the same habitat changes magpies tolerate well.

## Key facts: Magpie
- The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) is a corvid — a member of the crow and jay family — not a bird of prey.
- It is one of only a handful of non-mammal species shown to recognise itself in a mirror, a marker of self-awareness.
- Its long tail makes up more than half its total body length and gleams iridescent green and blue.
- Magpies are highly adaptable omnivores, eating insects, seeds, fruit, scraps and occasionally eggs or nestlings.
- The IUCN lists the Eurasian magpie as Least Concern, with a large and stable global population.
- In British folklore the magpie features in the counting rhyme 'one for sorrow, two for joy'.

## What does a magpie look like?
The Eurasian magpie is a striking, pied corvid measuring 44-46 cm from beak to tail tip, with a wingspan of roughly 52-62 cm. At a glance it appears simply black and white, but in good light the black areas glow with an iridescent sheen of green, blue and purple, especially across the long, wedge-shaped tail that accounts for more than half the bird's length. The shoulders and belly are clean white, the wings show a flash of blue-green, and the stout black bill and legs complete the look. Males and females are alike, though males average slightly larger. In flight the magpie reveals broad white wing patches and a trailing tail, alternating bursts of flapping with short glides. Its voice is just as distinctive: a harsh, rattling, machine-gun-like 'chacker-chacker' chatter that often signals alarm or announces the bird long before it is seen. Juveniles resemble adults but have shorter tails and duller plumage in their first months.

## How intelligent are magpies?
Magpies are among the most intelligent animals on Earth. Like other corvids, they have a brain that is large relative to body size, and they show problem-solving, planning and excellent memory — they can cache food in hundreds of locations and recover it later. Most remarkably, the Eurasian magpie is one of the very few non-mammal species demonstrated to pass the mirror self-recognition test. In landmark experiments, magpies marked with a coloured spot on the throat — visible only in a mirror — tried to remove the mark from their own bodies, suggesting they recognised the reflection as themselves rather than another bird. This places them in a small club alongside great apes, dolphins and elephants. Magpies also recognise individual human faces, can count to a degree, and have been observed in behaviour that resembles using tools and even apparent 'funeral' gatherings around dead companions. Their curiosity and boldness, sometimes mistaken for thieving 'shiny-object' habits, are really signs of an inquisitive, fast-learning mind.

## Where do magpies live and what do they eat?
Eurasian magpies range right across temperate Europe and Asia, from Britain and Iberia eastward, with populations also in North Africa. They are supremely adaptable, equally at home in open farmland, woodland edges, hedgerows, suburban gardens, parks and city centres — almost anywhere that offers trees or tall shrubs for nesting and open ground for foraging. They do not migrate, holding territories year-round, and outside the breeding season may gather in loose flocks. Magpies are true omnivores. Their diet shifts with the seasons and includes insects and other invertebrates, seeds, grain, berries and fruit, carrion, household scraps and, in spring, the eggs and nestlings of other birds — a habit that draws criticism but has little measurable effect on overall songbird numbers. They build large, domed stick nests, often with a roof, usually high in a tree or tall hedge. A typical European clutch is five or six eggs, incubated by the female while the male provisions her, and pairs frequently stay together across years.

## Magpie vs crow vs jackdaw: telling corvids apart
| Feature | Magpie | Carrion crow | Jackdaw |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Plumage | Black and white, iridescent | All glossy black | Grey nape, pale eye |
| Tail | Very long, wedge-shaped | Short, square | Short |
| Size | Medium, slim | Large, bulky | Small |
| Voice | Harsh rattling chatter | Deep 'caw' | Sharp 'tchack' |

## What WARN does
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects specifically for the Eurasian magpie, which is a widespread and thriving species well outside the five countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational mission: helping people understand and value wildlife. The threats that quietly reshape magpie habitats — hedgerow and woodland loss, intensive land use and shrinking green space — are the same pressures that endanger many of the animals WARN does protect.

If this guide deepened your appreciation of the natural world, a small gift helps WARN keep protecting the vulnerable animals that need it most.

## Frequently asked questions: Magpie
### Is a magpie a member of the crow family?
Yes. The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) belongs to Corvidae, the crow and jay family, which also includes ravens, rooks, jackdaws and jays. Corvids are widely regarded as among the most intelligent of all birds, and the magpie's problem-solving, memory and self-recognition abilities place it firmly in that brainy lineage.

### Why do magpies like shiny objects?
The idea that magpies compulsively steal shiny things is largely a myth. Controlled studies found magpies are actually wary of unfamiliar objects, shiny or not. Their reputation comes from natural curiosity — they investigate novel items as part of foraging — rather than any special attraction to glitter. Most of the 'thieving magpie' image is folklore, not biology.

### Can magpies really recognise themselves in a mirror?
Yes. The Eurasian magpie is one of the few non-mammal species shown to pass the mirror self-recognition test. When marked with a coloured spot visible only in a reflection, magpies tried to remove it from their own bodies, suggesting genuine self-awareness. This rare ability is otherwise documented mainly in great apes, dolphins and elephants.

### What does the rhyme 'one for sorrow' mean?
It comes from a traditional British counting rhyme about magpies: 'One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy...' The number of magpies seen was superstitiously linked to good or bad luck. It reflects old folklore rather than any real behaviour of the birds, which are simply social corvids that may be seen alone or in groups.

### Are magpies harmful to other birds?
Magpies do sometimes take the eggs and chicks of smaller birds in spring, which can be distressing to witness. However, large-scale studies have found this predation has little measurable effect on overall songbird populations, whose numbers are driven far more by habitat loss and food availability. Magpies are natural omnivores filling an ordinary ecological role.

### How long do magpies live?
In the wild, most magpies live only a few years, with high mortality among young birds. Those that survive their first year can live considerably longer, and ringing records include individuals over twenty years old. The oldest known wild Eurasian magpie in Britain reached about 21 years and 8 months, though such ages are exceptional.

## Sources
- [Eurasian magpie - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_magpie)
- [IUCN Red List](https://www.iucnredlist.org/)
- [Magpie - Encyclopaedia Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/animal/magpie)
- [Pica pica - Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25307)
- [CITES](https://cites.org/)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/magpie